


Alright

by kyrosh



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alcohol, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Underage Drinking, Weed mention, think S2, tommy and billy are buddies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23519173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyrosh/pseuds/kyrosh
Summary: Tommy and Billy are getting closer and are spending good time in the basement but...well.. someone had to bring up Harrington
Relationships: Tommy Hagan/Steve Harrington, billy hargrove & tommy hagan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Alright

**Author's Note:**

> Saber encouraged me to write something so i just slapped down my thoughts in a slightly more coherent form than I usually do on Tumblr - its been 8 years since I've last written a fanfiction (not exaggerating btw i was 12) so please be gentle <:3

Billy was pretty alright.

Sometimes at least - when he didn’t have that weird look in his eyes, like he was ready to cleanly snap someone's head off. Over the past month or so, Tommy had started to recognize that look and tried his best to avoid angering Hargrove even more.  
Sure he loved wrestling with the guy (even though he’d lose to Billy every single time), but getting his face beat in the same way Steve had gotten wasn’t really part of his new year's resolutions.

But those other times, when Hargrove was just toothy smiles and alcohol, he was more than alright actually. He had come to like the Californian boy. When he had first attached himself to Billy as a form of self-preservation in the hell that is high school, he never would’ve guessed that he would end up sharing some weed with him late at night in his basement.

By now it had become kind of their weekly Thursday afternoon program: Join together after gym class, stop by a small store to have Billy undress the lady at the cash register with his eyes, making all the right compliments to have her flustered and swooning, all while Tommy is sneaking out of the store with some stolen liquor, before heading over to either the Quarry or Tommy’s House.  
Right now he was waiting impatiently next to the blue Camaro, hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his feet with a bottle of whiskey uncomfortably pressing into his side, where it was lodged between his elbow and the side of his body, covered by the large Hawking high varsity jacket. How the lady still hasn’t caught onto them yet, was something he wasn’t gonna question further - he was much more concerned with how fucking long Billy was taking.

Eventually, the other guy made his way out of the store and up to the car, a pride in his walk that Tommy wishes he could imitate. „What, you fucked her in the back or something? What took you so long, Hargrove?“  
He didn’t get much of a response besides a small chuckle and that disgusting thing Billy did to lick his bottom lip, while he unlocked the Camaro and got in. Tommy winced a little. It’s not like he hasn’t thought that every now and then there's a slightly older lady that looks good, but Billy was seemingly so into it, he was chatting up half of Hawkins moms while their husbands were busy or out of town. It freaked him out a bit. 

Fifteen minutes later they were on that ratty old couch in the basement.  
It had a weird smell of spilled alcohol, cigarettes and weed stuck to it, followed by the smell of the sad attempt his mother had made to clean it with some new cleaning spray she had seen on a billboard. But this couch was beyond saving.  
It wasn’t sticky though, so Tommy considered that good enough.

They were about halfway through some shitty movie that neither of them particularly cared for and a little tipsy from the stolen goods, when Billy spoke up. And at this point, oxygen in the room seemed to have been replaced with cigarette smoke, so at first, Tommy thought his brain was playing tricks. But when he looked over at the other guy, he was met with a stare - curious but somewhat intimidating. „..What?“ „I don’t think anyone doesn’t notice it so don’t play dumb.“  
There was a bit of annoyance in Hargrove's voice but it was oddly playful. 

„I’m not playing dumb, you asshole, what the fuck would I be staring at Harrington for?“  
Billy chuckled, uncrossing his legs, which were resting on the small coffee table in front of them. „So you admit you’ve been staring at him.“ - „That is not what I said, why would I even look at that son of a bitch.“ Tommy noticed immediately after the words had left his mouth, how snappy his tone sounded. Way to go in making yourself look like a pissy bitch.  
„No need to insult his mother, I heard she’s a nice lady.“ Billy smiled, his teeth showing and Tommy swore he could see a bit of his tongue poking out beneath the top row. „Jesus, what the fuck Hargrove…“ He groaned - Having to deal with this once a day was more than enough.

They sat in awkward silence for a minute. Tommy lit another cigarette before speaking, fiddling with the filter:„I haven’t- I mean I didn’t… I wasn’t staring at him, okay? At least not on purpose.“  
„So.. you’ve been staring at him during gym class and sometimes even in the hall - and haven’t noticed that you’re doing it?“ Billy raised his brows in disbelief „Sure. If you wanna fight him or something just go for it.“ Tommy just took another drag, giving the other a death glare.  
They sat quietly for a bit longer and he felt like he was going to suffocate in how heavy the air seemed. Why in gods name did Billy have to bring up Steve fucking Harrington, what a buzzkill.  
„You were friends, right?“ Oh good, he’s still talking about Steve. „Yea since like.. second grade. What do you care?“ He got a shrug in return. „Just wanted to know how well you know him, doesn’t really seem like the kinda person you’d hang out with.“ - „Oh yea, what is that supposed to mean, Hargrove? What kinda people do I hang out with, huh?“ Tommy snarled.

„People like me.“ Billy didn’t look at him, instead, he took his feet off the table to lean forward and grab the bottle of whiskey, taking a good swig out of it. Tommy couldn’t tell if he was making a statement of „we’re the cool kids“ or if he detected a little bitterness in Billy's voice. He didn’t dare ask, but instead grabbed the bottle out of his hand and took a few generous gulps.

„Yea well, Harrington used to be my best friend until this Nancy chick turned him into a fucking bitch.“ He mumbled into the bottleneck, followed by taking another sip before putting the bottle back on the table. His head was buzzing. „I fucking... I did everything for him and he leaves me in the fucking dust for some bitch who treats him like shit.“ Words were a lot harder now with the added alcohol but god he just wanted to rant about him, whether Billy wanted to hear about it or not.

He must’ve spent at least 10 minutes talking about Steve nonstop, about knowing him, about the shit they did together, about missing his stupid face in his life. He was out of breath and running hot like he had just jogged through the gym for 5 minutes straight. Billy had just watched him, adding the occasional comment or groan while slowly working his way through another cigarette as well.

Tommy was exhausted. And now kind of sad, and definitely blaming it on Billy, who was now splayed across the couch in comfort. „…Have you ever kissed a guy, Hargrove?“ 

His body language changed so fast that it made Tommy tense up, thinking he was about to get that beating after all. But Billy's eyes lacked the violence. „What kinda fucking question is that, huh? You think I’m a queer, Tommy?“ He was raising his voice. It was defensive, the other could easily tell.

There were about 80 million thoughts running through his brain at once - what do you even say in a situation like this? Maybe he shouldn’t have drank as much as he did, maybe then he wouldn’t have been this stupid. He could probably go to the bathroom, saying that he was gonna be sick but Billy would know he was lying. Maybe he could just play it off as a bad attempt at changing the topic.

But his brain kept getting stuck on that summer afternoon.

Sun still high but slowly starting to make its way down towards the horizon, a towel hanging from his shoulders as he sat next to the Harrington's pool, Steve next to him.  
Carol had left early, they were sharing a beer. At some point, he had just listened to Steve talk about.. something. Tommy was a lot less listening and a lot more staring at his face. Smiling at the way he gestured while talking and laughing with him.  
He could never forget how soft Steve's lips were against his. It wasn’t wild. It wasn’t awkward. It was gentle. Loving. Just a small kiss, before they looked at each other and laughed, getting up from the side of the pool and heading inside, water dripping onto the expensive carpet.

He looked back at Billy, who was still staring daggers into him, rubbing his face with a groan.  
„..Nah, just asking… Me neither.“


End file.
